BackgroundInternational medical donation programs can help alleviate the burden of illness and serve as a safety net for the global health care system. However, to our knowledge no studies have assessed the number of individuals served through medical donation programs. As such, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of the Americares Foundation’s (Americares) medical donation program in terms of the number of patients served.MethodsWe conducted an outcome evaluation study in 34 health facilities in 10 countries that receive medical donations from Americares. Medical records were randomly sampled at each participating facility and evaluated for types of medications and number of courses of prescribed treatments. Facility level data and donation inventory data were also collected. We developed an algorithm for converting quantities of donated medicines into the number of individuals served at the facility level. These estimates were then extrapolated to the country and region levels to assess the total impact of medications donated in 2015. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was conducted to derive 95% credible ranges for projected estimates and to assess model uncertainty.ResultsRecords of 3,205 unique patients were reviewed, encompassing 10,449 medical visits. The average number of medications and courses of treatments prescribed per visit were 2.63 and 2.68, respectively. The average medication destruction rate ranged from 0% to 24% at facilities, with a cross-country average of 7%. For the 10 countries included in the study, we project that 700,377 unique individuals were served through the program (95% credible range: 518,401–905,982). Scaled across all regions receiving Americares donations, we project that the program supported an estimated 5.1 million beneficiaries, including 484,188 chronic care and 4.65 million acute care patients.ConclusionsThis study provides a novel methodology for medical donation programs seeking to estimate one of their key outcomes—patients served—and global reach. Rigorous assessments of program outcomes can provide important insights into the value of medical donation initiatives.Trial registrationHuman subjects approval was received from the University of Washington Institutional Review Board (Approval #52316; 7/19/2016).
Background: This study aimed to assess COVID-19 vaccine confidence among healthcare personnel in the safety net sector of the United States and Puerto Rico. The study aimed to examine the extent to which increased knowledge and positive attitudes about COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy were associated with healthcare workers' COVID-19 vaccination status and their recommendation of the vaccine to all patients. Methods: The study collected online survey data from healthcare workers working in Free and Charitable Clinics across the United States and Federally Qualified Health Centers in Puerto Rico. The survey consisted of 62 questions covering various demographic measures and constructs related to healthcare workers' vaccination status, beliefs, and their recommendation of COVID-19 vaccination to all patients. Statistical analyses, including multivariate analysis, were conducted to identify the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine status and recommendation among healthcare personnel. Results: Among the 2273 respondents, 93% reported being vaccinated against COVID-19. The analysis revealed that respondents who believed that COVID-19 vaccines were efficacious and safe were three times more likely to be vaccinated and two times more likely to recommend the vaccine to all their patients. Respondents who believed they had received adequate information about COVID-19 vaccination were 10 times more likely to be vaccinated and four times more likely to recommend it to all their patients. Conclusions: The study findings suggest that healthcare personnel's COVID-19 vaccine confidence is associated with increased knowledge and holding positive beliefs and attitudes about COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy. The results also highlight the importance of healthcare personnel feeling adequately informed and confident in their knowledge to recommend the vaccine to their patients. These findings have important implications for developing strategies to increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence among healthcare personnel and improve vaccine uptake among their patients.
Objective Sociodemographic factors influence slum dwellers health seeking behaviors such as choosing a health facility. To better understand the health-seeking behaviors among the slum dwelling residents in Mumbai, India, a cross-sectional community needs assessment was conducted under the support of the Rural India Supporting Trust (RIST). Results 432 respondents reported using some type of health facility within the past year, including 172 reporting use of private hospitals, 208 reporting use of public hospitals, 23 reporting use of Community Health clinics, and 29 reporting use of some other form of healthcare service. Logistic regression showed that female participants were significantly negatively associated with choosing a general practitioner (log-odds: -0.22, SE: 0.08). Higher education (log-odds: 0.16, SE: 0.08) and higher income (log-odds: 0.28, SE: 0.10) are significantly positively associated with choosing a private hospital. High income was found to be significantly negatively associated with choosing a government hospital (log-odds: -0.23, SE: 0.10). Education was also found to be significantly negatively associated with choosing a community health center (log-odds: -0.40, SE: 0.20). This study showed that health-seeking behaviors for health facilities are consistent with previously published results.
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